Punching Bag

"Seriously Ash, would you just stop getting up?" Dean said getting annoyed with his sister. She needed rest, but she couldn't sit still, no matter how hard she tried.

"Dean, shut it, I'm fine" Ashley protested as she got up from the couch she was sharing with a dozing Sam. She was just stuck in an endless dream loop and now stuck curled up on the other end of the couch in between Sam's outstretched legs. Dean seemed to think Ashley had been thrown through a brick wall and should not move no matter what happened, and that is what was driving Ashley up the wall. She just needed to get up and stretch her cramped legs, but with every move Ashley could feel Dean's eyes follow her. "Fine! I'll sit back down" Ashley mocked her brother as she climbed back on the couch with Sam and stretched her cramped legs on top of his long ones. The sudden addition of weight on Sam's legs had woken him from his nap and led him to rub his sister's bare legs. Sam looked up at her and smiled, it was clear he was happy to have Ashley back but was itching to tell her something.

Dean's cell phone let out a shrill from upstairs, so he headed up towards the sound after giving Ashley the telltale sign that he was watching her. "Hey Ash, look" Sam started "I'm sorry if I uh, left you alone after…you know." Sam was trying hard to make up for the wrongs he did, but nothing was coming out the way he wanted it to.

"Sammy forget it" Ashley said trying to hold back the tears, but it wasn't working. Sam wasn't expecting tears, but he quickly dropped her left leg and sat up to hold his sister.

"Ash, I'm sorry. I'll never leave again, I swear."

"Sammy I didn't mean to let you see that that night" she sobbed into his shirt, the smell of sleep on him was calming to her for some reason.

Dean came back down stairs to see Ashley asleep with her head on Sam's chest while he sat on the couch watching some TV. "Well aren't you a good Papa" Dean said sarcastically.

"What is it Dean? You were up there for hours" Sam whispered so as not to wake up his sister.

"It was Bobby" Dean said sitting on the couch's arm next to Sam "he uh, got a case for us, but what about Ash?"

"What about her?"

"She good to go?"

"You should ask her directly" Ashley mumbled into Sam's now damp shirt.

"You were awake?" Dean said confused that he couldn't tell.

"Yeah" she said shuffling into a more comfortable position on the couch "so, I'll go train with one of you jerks in the morning to prove my competence."

"Alright Killer" Dean said heading up stairs again.

Ashley allowed herself to roll off the couch and fall softly to the floor. She couldn't stop thinking about how she got stuck in dream land, but was interrupted by Sam patting her head in an effort to get her attention.

"Yeah?" she said finally coming back to the present.

"You have to trust us, we have your back" Sam said standing up to go upstairs as the show he was watching was finally over.

"Where are you going?"

"Bobby's got a case, I'm going to do some research."

"Mind if I give you a hand?" Ashley asked being as she didn't want to be alone right now.

"Since when do you want to help with research?"

"When haven't I wanted to help out? I like reading you know" she defended herself.

"Alright" Sam said holding out a hand to help his sister up.

Ashley was laying on Sam's bed with old lore books around her, but she wasn't actually paying attention to the words she was reading. Her mind kept going back to when Dean showed up in the memory of when she sliced open her leg. At that moment is when Ashley had felt strongest, but the memory replayed in her dream made her feel weak and broken. Dean also doubting her ability to hunt made her feels even more useless, more so the when she was pregnant and she couldn't let Dean do that.

Ashley was furious and couldn't stay on that bed any longer, she jumped up and let anger propel her into the room Dean was occupying.

"You Son of a Bitch!" Ashley yelled as she flung the door open.

"That's your mother too, you know" Dean said shooting up from the bed.

"You ass! You're always making me feel like a dumbass" she said walking right up to her oldest brother and slapping him right across his face. Ashley just stood there staring at the look of anger spreading across his face. Dean would never hit her out of anger like he did Sam, but he would yell in her face until he lost his voice. This time Dean was shocked into silence, and that might have scared Ashley even more. "Going to just stand there?" she spat at Dean. "You piece of shit, say something" she said punching dean in the gut.

"What do you want me to say?" Dean said still doubled over and breathing heavy from getting the wind knocked out of him.

"What the hell is your problem with me Dean?" she spat at her brother and getting inches away from his face.

"You're my baby sister! That's my problem with you! You can't stay out of trouble dammit!"

"Too fucking bad" Ashley said pulling back to slap Dean again, but he caught her hand this time.

"Listen to me, I am your brother not a damn punching bag."

"Well stop acting like my damn father" she pulled her hand away from Dean's grip and stormed out of their shared room.

AN: Hope you enjoyed! Tell me what you think!